We were really excited for this event and traveled to spend the weekend. The Q&A and therefore the…read morepageant started much too late, especially for elders and littles. The Q&A was fun and it was great to hear some backstories from the show. Alison Arngrim (aka Nellie Oleson) was the most entertaining! We had to re-watch the scene of her flying down the hill into the water several times after she talked about her experience. After a break, the pageant started at 9pm but because it was so late (~10pm), we had to leave during intermission. We were not the only ones as there was a mass exodus happening to the point that there was a lineup to get out of the parking lot. My humble suggestion to the organizers is that you start all the pre-pageant activities, and therefore the pageant, much earlier. Fans will show up whenever you schedule it!
The story was cute and you have to appreciate the local talent in order to enjoy the performance. This year was a continuation from last year. I'm not sure if that is always how it is, but it didn't seem to take away from the current story (iow, none of us were lost in the story at any point). Know what you're getting into and realize these are not professional actors. So be respectful!
You can sit in fold out metal chairs or bring a blanket and sit in the grass on the sides and above the chairs. We sat in our assigned chairs from our tickets, but if we were to do it again (we won't), we would likely take a space on the side or top with a blanket and/or our own chairs.
We also went by the event in the town of Walnut Grove, MN at the Leo Thorsness Memorial Talk the next day. This was another opportunity to hear from and get photos with Nellie, Michael Landon's children, Carrie, Grace, and others from the show. It was PACKED! I don't think the organizers realized how popular this was going to be and tried to keep it contained within the park. They should have expanded onto the town streets to accommodate the crowds. If you are a crowd type person, you would have enjoyed this immensely! If you are less inclined to share space with hundreds of sweaty strangers, get there first thing, get your photos, and get the heck outta there.
Overall, if you're a fan of LHOTP, GO!! It looks like the 2025 schedule is similar, so have the elders and kiddos take a nap earlier in the day so they can hang through the long event. Bring bug spray, blankets, cushions for the fold out metal chairs or your own chairs and blanket, and money for all the cute merch (e.g. bonnets).